Through The Fire

One of my favorite groups of male singers has never cut an album. As a group their not really known outside of their local church. Collectively, Buddy Thompson, Eddie Wilber and Matt Evans were only known as the Men's Trio. Though they didn't sing as a group often, when they did, the harmonies were in my opinion of a similar quality to any Southern Gospel trio or quartet in the music industry today. One of my favorite songs that they ever sang was written by a man named Gerald Crabb and it is called "Through The Fire." While I know that it has been recorded by many and was made famous by the authors children, particularly Jason Crabb, it was the Men's Trio of Life Church where I first heard the song, the words of which have ministered to me over and over again. Allow me to share:

So many times I've questioned certain circumstances
Or things I could not understand
Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
And my frustration gets so out of hand
Its then I am reminded I've never been forsaken
I've never had to stand the test alone
As I look at all the victories
The spirit rises up in me
And its through the fire my weakness is made strong

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
And the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered our victories without fighting
But He said help would always come in time
Just remember when your standing in the valley of decision
And the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And He will take you through the fire again

I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust the hand of God, He'll shield the flames again.
You know in our world today, there are plenty of preachers misleading new babes in Christ by convincing them that if they will give their life to Christ all their problems will instantly and magically go away. If they praise hard enough, if they have enough faith, they can live life on easy street and have no worries, no problems ever again. Well - I'm all for faith and I love to praise Jesus, but the truth is that when we propagate that type of message we give people false hope and we set them up to believe that somehow they aren't living for God correctly because "life" happens to them. As this song says, and anyone whose lived the Christian life knows, Jesus never promised that the cross would not get heavy OR that the hill would not be hard to climb. He never offered our victories without fighting . . . He simply promised that he'd never leave us nor forsake us. In the midst of our trials, He gave us a comfort in knowing that whatever we face, He will be by our side.
The title of the song is "Through The Fire". There's something powerful about the word "THROUGH". That word gives me an assurance. Jesus doesn't bring us to the fire. He doesn't leave us in the fire. He doesn't show up after we make it out of the fire. He promises to bring us THROUGH the fire. Think about a great story from the book of Daniel. There are 3 Jewish boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (or Rack, Shack, & Benny if you are a fan of Veggietales), who received as a punishment, for their unwillingness to bow to a large statue, a trip into a large furnace of fire. God shows Himself strong in the midst of the fire and brings these three fellows THROUGH the fire.
David wrote in the 23rd Psalm, "Yeah though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. . ." He doesn't take us into the place of our greatest trials, our worst fears and sometimes our biggest failures and leave us. Nope - that's not my God. No - instead He reassures us that in those times when life has taken us and shown us its worst that He is an ever present help in our times of trouble. He is there to take us THROUGH.
Andre Crouch sang a song called "Through it All". Maybe you've heard it - "Through it all - Through it all - I've learned to trust in Jesus - I've learned to trust in God - Through it all - Through it all - I've learned to depend upon His word." We all will face struggles and we will all go through "life" but the fire that we have to go through has a purpose. It cleanses us, it refines us, it purifies us, it teaches us to trust in Jesus. Through it all - through the fire - through the valley of the shadow of death - Jesus is with us and will never leave us or forsake us.
I pray today that you, no matter how hot the fire may seem right now, that you would realize and discover the ever-abiding presence of our wonderful Savior - who's with you in the fire, not to show that He's fireproof but rather to prove to you that His love will not allow Him to ever leave you - even in those moments when the fire is the hottest. You can depend on Him to carry you THROUGH.
Love you all - until next time, realize that together, with Jesus - we will make it THROUGH! -- RP